Almond Biscotti (Cantucci)
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You can’t resist these Italian almond biscotti, they’re super crispy and taste just amazing, with lovely hints of orange, honey, and delicious toasted almonds.
No sprinkles, no food colourings, no bells, no whistles. Simple is best.
Biscotti, otherwise known as “cantucci”, are the classic twice-baked Italian biscuits from Tuscany and, if you haven’t heard about them before, biscotti literally means twice (bis) cooked (cotti).
Baking them twice might sound a bit time-consuming, but it’s during this step that biscotti dry out and become crispy. The extra time is SO worth it, and the double-baking gives them their trademark crumbly dry crispness.
Almond biscotti are one of my all-time favorite treats. My heart adores their texture, the wholesome almonds, the orange zest, the anise seeds, the honey.
Seriously. They are unreal.
Years ago I used to bake and sell tons of these cantucci to several coffee shops here in London. People fell in love with them, totally.
Added bonus? They last up to 2 weeks and it’s a breeze to turn them into a homemade gift perfect for Christmas and Easter.
Seriously, it’s time for you to run to the kitchen and make them. We all need almond biscotti with a cup of coffee in our life.
Dunk, devour, and enjoy!
List of the ingredients
- All-purpose flour or white spelt flour
- Baking powder (not pictured)
- Almonds
- Egg
- Sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Orange zest
- Honey
- Vanilla extract
- Anise seeds (optional, but I love them!)
How to make Almond Biscotti
(Note: this is a quick description, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- In a large bowl whisk egg and sugar until pale.
- Then stir in oil, vanilla, honey, and orange zest.
- Toss in flour, baking powder, and anise seeds.
- The dough starts to take shape.
- Add toasted almonds.
- Then bring it together gently by hands, inside the bowl.
You’ll see that the dough is very easy to work it…
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/375℃.
- Divide dough in half, shape 2 logs, and place them onto a baking sheet.
- Then brush the logs with egg wash, a silicone pastry brush is perfect for this job!
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Let these beautiful golden logs cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Using a cutting board, slice the logs into diagonal pieces (½ inch/1.5 cm wide).
Wait, it’s not finished yet, one more step to make them crunchier!
- Reduce oven temperature to 250℉/120℃.
- Bake the biscotti slices 10 minutes per side. Don’t over-bake them!
- Let them cool, make yourself a cup of coffee, enjoy and be happy!
Recipe notes
Recipe notesAlmond biscotti ingredients
Just a few notes about some of the ingredients and substitutions, you’ll find more details in the recipe card!
Flour: all-purpose flour or white spelt flour work great for this biscotti recipe.
Eggs: you need one egg for the dough, and one egg to brush the tops of logs to give a lovely golden, shiny finish.
Almonds: first, it’s worth toasting the almonds to bring out their flavor. Don’t skip this step! I prefer to use whole almonds, but almond slivers work just fine.
Flavor boosters: you have a touch of honey, vanilla and orange zest that create such a delicious and delicate balance of flavors. And I don’t use any almond extract in this recipe, I don’t think it’s needed.
Anise seeds: I know, they sound unusual, but trust me, their aromatic and refreshing notes take this almond biscotti recipe to the next level. Give them a try!
How long do almond biscotti last?
They last up to 2 weeks if stored in an airtight container (this type of metal tins are the best to store biscotti!).
More cookies & biscotti…
For more cookie recipes, check out this amazing list of Christmas cookies.
Below a few of our favorites:
- Fig cookies (Italian cucciddati)
- Chocolate orange cookies
- 1-bowl Orange chocolate cookies
- Vegan almond biscotti
- 4-ingredient coconut cookies
- Chocolate biscotti
- Lemon biscotti
- Chocolate chip biscotti
If you make this recipe for almond biscotti, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!
Recipe update: originally published in December 2019, this post has been updated today.
Almond Biscotti (Italian cantucci)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150 grams) Almonds, toasted
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp (90 grams) sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil (olive oil or canola oil)
- 1 orange, zest
- 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour or white spelt
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 Tbsp anise seeds, or more if you like (optional)*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180℃ and line 1 large baking tray with parchment paper.
- TOAST THE ALMONDS: scatter the almonds over the prepared baking tray and toast them in the preheated oven until fragrant and lightly golden (it takes about 7 minutes). Remove from the oven and set aside.
- MAKE THE BATTER: In a medium bowl, whisk 1 egg and sugar together until the batter has become lighter in color and the sugar is thoroughly dissolved.
- Then add oil, honey, vanilla extract, orange zest, oil and mix well.
- Stir in flour, baking powder, and anise seeds. Mix until most of the flour is incorporated (see picture above). Then add the almonds, and using your hands gently bring the dough together inside the bowl. Make sure the almonds are distributed evenly.
- MAKE THE LOGS: divide the dough into two flat logs (approx 2 inches wide), arrange them apart on the baking tray and flatten slightly. Try to make them as uniform in size and shape as possible (see the pictures above). If you find the dough a bit sticky, simply wet your hands.
- In a small bowl, beat the second egg and brush this egg wash over the logs. The egg wash gives a lovely golden color, but you can skip this step if you wish.
- Bake them for about 25-30 minutes (27 mins for my oven), until the surface is firm to gentle pressure. Do not switch the oven off as these will need to be baked again, but reduce the heat to 250℉/120℃.
- Let the logs cool on the baking tray for about 15 minutes, then use a sharp knife and gently slice them into 1/2-inch pieces. Better if you slice them on a chopping board, and be gentle when slicing.
- Place the slices on the baking tray cut side down and return them to the oven for the second bake. Bake for about 10 minutes each side, a total of 20 minutes.
Notes
- Storage: Italian almond biscotti keeps very well for about 2 weeks. However, humidity might ruin them, please store them in an airtight container, metal tins are the best!
- Substitutions: traditionally made with almonds, you can replace the almonds with chocolate chips, hazelnuts, pine nuts or dried fruits like figs or sultanas. The possibilities are endless. Anise seeds are a must for the classic Italian almond biscotti, however, feel free to omit them if you wish.
- Almonds: I highly recommend to toast the almonds to bring out their amazing flavor. I used whole almonds and I didn’t chop them, but if you bake biscotti for the very first time you might chop your almonds, which will make the cutting easier.
- Anise seeds: aniseed is optional, but it adds a lovely and refreshing note. I love it and I’m sure you would love it too. Give them a try!
- You can easily replace white sugar with unrefined cane sugar and all-purpose flour with light spelt flour, which tastes delicious and has a nutty flavor. Plus, spelt is a nutritious whole grain, and easier to digest than wheat
- NUTRITIONAL VALUES: Please note that the nutrition values are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. The nutrition value is for one serving only.
Excellent recipe. I used a gluten free flour blend and Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer for the 1 egg called for in the dough and they turned out beautifully. Thanks for this!
You’re very welcome, Nicole! I’m so glad they turned out great.
Thanks a lot for sharing your feedbacks. : )
Hi Katia. Your recipe call for 350F/375C. 350F is actually 176C. So do I go by F or C.
Thanks so much, Kathy. The silly typo is amended now! : )
Curious whether you have a tip for slicing through whole almonds? I love the look of the whole almonds when you cut through them, but when i slice the biscotti, the nuts sort of pull out from the cookies instead of slicing cleanly through. i am using a serrated knife.
Hey Leila! I don’t have a specific tip, but I use a very sharp chef knife, not serrated. : )
Have a lovely weekend. x
that was a great tip. i used my sharpest chef knife with firm pressure and it made perfect cuts. not sure why other recipes recommend a serrated knife ??
Haven’t made them yet but plan to this weekend as I love them and they’re so expensive shop-bought. Can I use almond slivers instead of whole nuts as have some in the pantry?
Hi Stacey, I’m glad you like this recipe!
You can use up your almond slivers, but make sure you toast them first.
Have a nice weekend. x
Made with a whole bag of almond slivers…toasted. It was magic. Making again for Easter and will split the log and make one with cranberries or lemon + the toasted almond slivers. Such a good recipe!
Fantastic, Shan! I’m so glad to hear they turned out great. : )
I love them too, and they’re definitely on my to-do list for Easter. Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! x
These are on my cookie rotation and are fabulous! Would I bee able to make using oat flour?
Will try today.. Looks yummy and sounds simple…
Fantastic!
Hi, I am looking forward to making these. Can I use melted coconut oil? Thank you.
Hey Joan! : )
I’ve never used coconut oil in this recipe but I think it should work fine. x
It’s there any substitute for vegetable oil… Can I use sunflower oil instead of vegetable oil ?
Hi Ahalya! Yes you can. x
Hi, the flavor is amazing. The biscotti are a bit crumbly when I cut them before baking them again. I can’t figure out what I did wrong. Any tips?
Thank you for sharing your recipe. 🌟
Hi Iva, I’m so pleased to hear that they tasted amazing! Biscotti are really crumbly when you slice them, especially when they’re packed with almonds.
Next time make sure they’re cold and use a sharp serrated knife, that helps. : )
These were ok- they came out a little dry and very little dough. Is there a difference if I use butter instead of oil?
Hi Alba! Biscotti are supposed to be dry, and there’s no noticeable difference between butter and vegetable oil. I used to make them with melted butter, but I think that vegetable oil is fine too and makes the recipe easier for beginners. x
Just made these and the dough is so crumbly! I followed the recipe exactly and also have very little dough. I’m at a loss. They’re in the oven now but I had a terrible time forming the dough into logs.
Michele, sorry to hear your dough was too crumbly. I guess tha ratio of flour to liquid was off – that makes the dough too dry. Did you use a kitchen scale for the flour? x
These were delicious! Do you have nutrition facts for them?
Hi Jillian, I’m glad you loved them and thanks for your comment!
The recipe has been updated, the nutrition facts are now inclued. Cheers x
My dough was very crumbly, not sure why? Followed the recipe to the T.
Sorry to hear that Maria, I don’t know what happened there, but the dough should be pliable enough to be shaped into logs. x
They tasted great, but the logs didn’t rise – they were mostly flat and bumpy. May need to try adding baking soda.
Hi Nicole! I’m glad to hear they tasted grated despite they didn’t rise. Please, make sure the baking powder is still active. Even though it has long shelf live, the chemical leaveners lose potency over time. Cheers x
Hi , usually 1 cup is 250 gm right ? Here one cup almonds given as 150.gms .
No, it’s not right, but it depends on the ingredients you measure.
1 cup of almonds is 150 grams, 1 cup of sugar is 200 grams, 1 cup of oatmeal 150 grams, 1 cup of rice 210 grams, and so forth.
IMO it’s always a good idea to use a kitchen scale. Cheers.
Really yummy! Made with half flour, half sprouted spelt flour!
I’m so glad you liked them, Stella! Thanks for sharing your feedback 😊 x
This was delicious, the orange zest perfect!
I’m so pleased you liked them, Janice! 😊 x
Can I add dried cherries and almo d extract?
Hi! Yes, that sounds delicious : )